TORONTO – Kevin Gausman has remarked on many occasions that 2024 has been a grind for him. He didn’t need to say that following Monday night’s contest at Rogers Centre. The frustration etched on his face denoted as much.
By now you’re familiar with the right-hander’s progression: Gausman fought through a shoulder issue in spring training and admittedly rushed back too soon, a decision that cascaded into other problems. He struggled to find his timing and has dealt with a decrease in velocity as well as inconsistency with his fastball and splitter.
To his credit, though, Gausman’s battled all year and things looked like they were turning for him over his past several starts. In Monday’s 6-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, though, the Toronto Blue Jays right-hander took a slight step backward during an outing that almost seemed like a microcosm of his uneven campaign.
“Sporadic command,” Gausman said, describing his start. “They did a good job of making me work, having long at-bats, not swinging at good pitches and fouling off good pitches.”
Gausman’s velocity was down across the board in what was a chilly night in Toronto with the roof open. His fastball sat at 92.4 m.p.h., down from 94 m.p.h. on the season, while his splitter was clocked at 84.7, down from its 85.8 average.
In the third inning, Gausman surrendered a double to former Blue Jays infielder Santiago Espinal, who advanced to third on a balk and scored on Elly De La Cruz’s sacrifice fly to left field. In the fourth, TJ Friedl launched a solo homer to right field off an 88.7 m.p.h. four-seamer from Gausman that tied the game at 2-2.
It was clear the right-hander didn’t have his best stuff and that was evidenced by an inability to put away hitters who routinely fouled off his pitches. Despite that, Gausman had managed to keep the Blue Jays in the contest until a cruel sixth inning unfolded.
With his pitch count nearing the century mark, Gausman engaged in an eight-pitch at-bat with Tyler Stephenson to open the frame. His final pitch to the Reds’ No. 3 hitter was a splitter that induced a swinging third strike. Gausman had won the battle, but the ball got by Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk and that allowed Stephenson to reach first.
The next batter, Friedl, singled to right field on Gausman’s 100th pitch of the night and that was it for the right-hander.
Manager John Schneider made his way to the mound to remove Gausman for right-hander Ryan Burr, who promptly surrendered doubles to three of the next four hitters he faced. The Reds’ rally plated four runs, put the game out of reach and saddled Gausman with the hard-luck loss.
In total, he allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits over five-plus innings, walking two and striking out five.
Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. blasted his 26th homer of the season in the first inning, while Ernie Clement added his eighth longball of the campaign in the ninth, but other than that, the Blue Jays offence was mostly listless against Reds starter Julian Aguiar, who was making his major-league debut, and the five relievers who followed.
The 33-year-old Gausman has now tallied 144.1 innings on the season and says he’s adjusted his workload to compensate for the late-season wear on his body. That’s included shortening his bullpen sessions and spending more time on recovery.
“August is always kind of a grind month for me, for whatever reason,” said Gausman. “Always been like that for the course of my career. So, knowing that going in, [I] kind of tweak some things and try to alleviate that.
“I didn’t necessarily feel great today, but honestly, I have been feeling good,” he continued. “It’s frustrating, but yeah, that’s part of the season that we’re at.”
Gausman will be a pivotal member of the 2025 Blue Jays. Some of the club’s success next year will hinge on his return to form. To that end, Schneider has a clear idea of what he wants to see from the right-hander over the season’s remaining six weeks.
“Just taking care of himself and going out and competing,” Schneider said. “First thing he said when I took him out was, ‘My bad.’ It’s just the guy that he is … He’s been one of the best pitchers in the league for the last handful of years. So, down the stretch, it’s just set a good example. You know, he wants to end on a strong note [during what was] an up-and-down year for him and for his standard.
“So, I’m going to give him every chance to do that. And I’m confident that he will.”